Black people three times more likely to experience homelessness

BLACK people are more than three times as likely to experience homelessness, government figures have revealed for the first time.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government released data yesterday that, for the first time, broke down the number of people who are classed as homeless by ethnicity.

It found that black people were disproportionately affected by homelessness, with one in 23 black households becoming homeless or threatened with homelessness, as opposed to one in 83 households from all other ethnicities combined.

Researchers found that 11 per cent of homeless people applying for help were black, even though black people make up just three per cent of households in England. A further quarter (24 per cent) of people making homelessness applications to councils are from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups, despite them making up 11 per cent of all English households.

The figures collated the numbers classed as statutory homeless as opposed to those classed as rough sleepers. The data, which cover the period between April 2019 and March 2020, assess the prevention and relief of homelessness in England.

The charity Shelter warned that such figures mean that a person who is BAME becomes homeless or threatened with homelessness every eight minutes.

Polly Neate, Shelter chief executive, said: “On the first day of Black History Month, it is vital we address the deep inequality and systemic racism that persists in the housing system.”